Mechanical golf instruction aid



July 24, 1956 F. ZEGA MECHANICAL GOLF INSTRUCTION AID ATTUENEYS July 24,1956 F, ZEGA 2,756,056

MECHANICAL GOLF INSTRUCTION AID Filed March l0, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR.

BY fr'k Z gy@ ATTRNE'YS July 24, 1956 F. zEGA MECHANICAL GOLFINSTRUCTION AID 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 10, 1954 INVENTOR.

,9 r TURA/EVS United States Patent O MECHANICAL GOLF INSTRUCTION AIDFrank Zega, Bridgeport, Conn. Application March 10, 1954, Serial No.415,403

6 Claims. (Cl. 273-191) This invention relates to mechanical golfinstruction aids, more particularly to aids of the type which areadapted to guide a golf club during a practice swing for the purpose ofperfecting the swing.

The present invention concerns improvements in the mechanical golfinstruction aid described and claimed in my Patent No. 2,653,025 datedSeptember 22, 1953.

An object of the invention is Lto provide a greatly simplified yet veryeffective mechanical instruction aid lof the club-guiding type, whichmay be used `as a practice device by a person desiring to improve his orher golf swing.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved and simplifiedmechanical instruction aid as above sel forth, wherein the golf club isaccurately and easily guided without the aid of attachments thereto yorcarriages therefor, throughout its entire arc of movement, from theinitiation of the swing to the follow-through.

A further object of the invention is to provide yan improved golfinstruction device in accordance with the foregoing, wherein the upperend portions of the guiding means, comprising guide rails, cross eachother and are so arranged that they can be swung laterally to provideclearance for the golf club, thereby to allow the club to have afullkand complete swing.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved andsimplified golf instruction aid wherein novel entrance means areprovided at the lower portion of the guide, to permit insertion of theclub between the rails while at the same time preventing inadvertentdisplacement of the club from its interposed position during the swing.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved guidemeans for a golf club, which is so arranged that a limited yieldingoccurs during the swinging of the club, such yielding, however, beinginsufficient to interfere with proper guidance in the requiredpredetermined path.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of novel andsimplified means by which the guide rails of the instruction aid may bereadily adjusted -to the individual user.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the improved golf instructionaid of this invention, for guiding a golf club when practicing.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, partly in elevation and partly in verticalsection, of the lower central portion of the golf instruction aid, takenon line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top or plan view of the lower portion of thegolf instruction aid.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top or plan view of the starting end of theclub-guiding means of `the instruction Vaid, as

'y sen'when standing to the rear of the device, said vview 2,756,056Patented July 24, 1956 2 showinga swing-away end portion and thereleasing trigger therefor.

Fig. 6 is a rear elevational view of the swing-away portion of theclub-guiding means shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on line 7-7 ofFig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a detail showing in elevation a portion of the supportingstructure for the guide means.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the adjustment deviceemployed with the supporting means.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary top or plan view lof the finish or tail portionof the guide means as seen from the front vof the device, said viewshowing a pivoted rail end.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary front elevational view taken in thedirection ofthe arrows 11, 11 of Fig. 10.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the improved golf instruction aid kof thisinvention comprises a club-guiding means generally designated by thenumeral 10, said means essentially ncomprising a pair of spaced,coextcnsive guide rails 11 and 12. As seen in Fig. 1 the guiding means10 extends in a curvilinear path which covers the entire range ofmovement of the golf club, from the initiation or start of the swing tothe finish or follow-through. The upper terminal portions 13 and 14 ofthe guide means cross each other, the starting guiding portion 13appearing behind the finish guiding portion 14 when the instruction aidis viewed from the front as in Fig. 1.

In accordance with the present invention the starting and yfinishguiding portions 13 and 14 of the guide means are pivotally mounted andarranged to swing out of vtheir normal positions wherein they arealigned with the adjacent portions kof the guide means, thereby toprovide clearance for the golf club during the swing.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the starting portion 13 of :the guide railscomprises an elongate, U-shaped rail member 15 secured to a pivotbracket 16 which latter is mounted by means of a hinge pin 17 on asecond pivot bracket 18 fastened to the guide rail 12. One end of theguide rail 11, see Figs. 5 and 7, carries an eye member Y19 in which thefree end 20 of the member 15 is loosely received when the latter isaligned With the rails 11 and 12. The end member l5 is normally urgedfrom its normal aligned position by means of an extension spring 21secured at one end to the member by an eye 22a and at its other end tosupport means later to be described. The end member 15 is held in itsaligned position by a latch comprising a plunger 22 bearing in the pivotbracket 16 and normally urged to the right as viewed in Fig. 5 by acompression spring 23. The rightmost extremity of the plunger 22, Fig.7, is received in an aperture 24 of the bearing bracket 18, thus lockingthe member 1 5 in alignment 4with the guide rails 11 and 12. Movement ofthe plunger 22 out of the opening 24 to release the end member 15 forswinging counterclockwise movement as viewed in Fig. 5 is effected by atrigger y25 pivoted at 26 on the bracket 1li, the trigger normallyextending across the space between the bracket 18 and the rail 11 andbeing adapted to extend through a slot 24a in the bracket 1S. It will beunderstood that clockwise movement of the trigger 25 from the positionshown in Fig. 5 will retract the plunger 22, unlocking the end memberv15 and enabling it to be swung counterclockwise under the action of thelspring 21. The member 15 is manually returned to aligned position priorto starting the next kpractice swing. The parts 15 and 11, Fig. 5, areseen Vto be long and slender, and thus somewhat yieldable, and thisfact, together with the loose fit in the eye member 19, enables the rodend 20 to lreadily slide out of the eye member 19 when the trigger 25 isactuated.

To control the positioning of the lever 25 a leaf spring 27 is providedon the bracket 18, and also aplunger 28 'charged by a compression spring29. The action of the trigger 25 is normally as follows: When the golfclub,

n in travelling between the rails 11 and 12 during the back- 'swin`g,strikes the trigger 25 (in moving from right to left as viewed in Fig.5) it will `shift the trigger counterclockwise against the leaf springZ7 and the latter will cause a rebound of the trigger, restoring `it tothe posithe trigger and shift the latter clockwise, retracting theplunger 22 and releasing the end member 15for swinging movement-underthe action of the spring 21. The

` golf club will move quickly past the trigger 25 and .the latterwill becaused to rebound when it strikes the plunger 28, thus returning it tothe position shown in Fig. 5. By this action the end portion of theguide means is made to swing backward quickly, shortly after thebeginning of the forward swing of the golf club, and when the clubreaches the termination of its swing, on the follow-through of thestroke, the portion 15 will be out of the way, thereby preventing itsinterference with the final phase of the swing. Prior to commencing thenext practice swing, the portion 15 is manually returned to its normaloperative position as shown in Figs. l and 5. The assembly 15, as abovestated, must beswung back so as to be out of the way of the club on thefollow-through portion of the stroke, and this will be apparent from aconsideration of Figs. 1 and 2, which show the member 15 extending belowand across the portion 14.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2, l0 and ll, the follow-through or finish portion14 of the guide means comprises a single rail extension member 30pivotally secured to the rail 12. The member 30 is carried by a pivotbolt 31 and `engages a sector plate 32 secured to the underside of `therail 12, said plate steadying the member when it .is pivotally moved.

An yangle-shaped stop pin 33 is secured to one end of the member 30, forengagement with the rail 12, and an extension spring 34 is connectedbetween the member 30 and a supporting means to be hereinafterdescribed, whereby the member is normally held in alignment with therail 12 as shown in Fig. 10.

The member 30 crosses the member 13 above the latter, and is so close tothe member 13 as to be engaged along its back surface (upper surface asviewed in Fig. l0) by the golf club at the end of the backswing thereof.However, due to the pivotal mounting of the member 30 it may be pushedforward and out of the way by the golf club, thereby enabling the clubto be moved completely back to the yoke of the member 15. Shortly afterthe club commences its forward swing, the member 30 will again bereturned to its normal position in alignment with the rail 12 by thespring 34.

In accordance with this invention the guide Vmeans comprising the rails11 and 12 is arranged at its lower portion so that it will readilyreceive a golf club to be interposed between the rails, and will notpermit the club to inadvertently shift out of its interposed positionduring the swing. As shown in Fig. 4 the rail 11 has a cut 35 in it, andan end portion 36 of the rail at the said cut is bent outward at anangle. Thus the golf club may be readily inserted between the rails andyet when travelling from left to right, as viewed in Fig. 4, during the`forward swing it will knot inadvertently pass out through the cut or beinterfered with appreciably. During the forward swing of the club, atthe lower portion of the path which it travels (adjacent the cut 35) thenormal tendency which a person swinging the club has is t to beardownward and thus the club is maintained in i intimate pressing contactwith the rail 12 and held out of contact with the rail 11. Thus thepresence of the cut 35 `does not interfere in any way with the normalswing of the golf club.

The present invention provides novel and improved support means by whichthe guide means 10 is mounted to permit it to be readily adjusted tosuit the person making the practice swing, and to permit it to yield toa certain extent while still providing the proper guidance for the golfclub. Referring to Figs. l and 2, a pair of hollow upright posts 37 and38 isprovided, said posts being braced by struts 39 and by a tie rod 40and telescopically receiving upper extension members 41 and 42respectively, on which are mounted horizontal arms 43 and 44. Theextensions 41 and 42 have holes or recesses 45 disposed at intervalsalong their lengths, for receiving pins 46 adapted to be received alsoin notches 47 in the upper extremities of the posts 37 and 38. The holes45 are preferably not only axially spaced but also circumferentiallyspaced slightly, thereby providing for a slight automatic rotativeadjustment of the horizontal arms 43 and 44 in conjunction with thevertical adjustment of the arms. This adjustment tends to conform thesupporting structure more closely to the club-guiding means 10 for thedilferent positions of the latter.

At is lowermost portion the guide means is supported by a framework 48having ball-deflecting cover members 49 and a mat 50 over which the golfclub head passes during the swing. If desired, golf balls may be placedon the mat 50, to be driven by the golf club during the swing.

By the present invention the rails 11 and 12 are supported so as to beyieldable slightly, not only as a. whole A but also with respect to eachother, the latter being particularly true where they guide the golf clubat the follow-through or termination of the forward swing. As shown inFigs. l, 2 and 8 the horizontal arms 43 and 44 carry large resilienthoops 52 and 53 having a generally rectangularshape, the hoops beingsecured at their corner portions to the arms and extending angularlydownwardly therefrom. The rails 11 and 12 are secured to the hoops 52and 53 by suitable brackets as shown, arranged so as to not interferewith the movement of the golf club. The hoop 52 is somewhat resilient oryieldable andtherefore enables the track or guide means 10 to yieldsomewhat with respect to its support 41 during the initial forward swingof the golf club. The same is true of the hoop 53, and this latter inaddition permits a limited relative movement between the rails 11 and 12at the time that the club is completing the forward swing, during thefollow-through thereof. The amount of yielding of the guide means 10 isnot suicient to adversely aect the proper guidance of the golf club, butstill enables a certain amount of leeway to be had by the operator, andthis is a desirable feature of the invention.

I also provide a triangular deector plate 52a on the hoop 52, having onecorner connected to the upper extremity of the rail 11 to deflect theclub on the followthrough of an improper swing and prevent the club frombecoming entangled with the said hoop.

It will be seen that by the above construction I have provided a noveland simplified, effective means for perfecting a golf swing by providingproper guidance for the golf club, said means being devoid of carriageswhich were heretofore used, being secured to the shank of the club. Myimproved instruction device is very simple and inexpensive tomanufacture, and enables a full guided 'swing of the club to be hadwithout interference either at the termination of the backswing or thefollow-through. The instruction aid may be readily adjusted to adapt itto persons of diierent height, and is strong and durable `in itsconstruction while at the same time of relatively light weight.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claimsandportions of the improvements may be used without others.

' I claim:

1. A mechanical instruction aid for guiding a golf club during aVpractice swing, comprising a pair of closelyspaced, curved railsextending alongside each other and arranged to loosely receive betweenthem the lower shank portion of the golf club, said rails extendingalong a predetermined curvilinear path conforming to a prescribedgolf-club swing; and means hingedly connecting one set of juxtaposedupper end portions of said rails to the remainders thereof to enablesaid end portions to be swung out of said curvilinear path and therebyprovide clearance for the golf club on the follow-through of the latter.

2. A mechanical instruction aid for guiding a golf club during apractice swing, comprising a pair of closelyspaced, curved railsextending alongside each other and arranged to loosely receive betweenthem the lower shank portion of the golf club, said rails extendingalong a predetermined curvilinear path conforming to a prescribedgolf-club swing; means hingedly connecting one set of juxtaposed upperend portions of said rails to the remainders thereof to enable said endportions to be swung out of said curvilinear path and thereby provideclearance for the golf club on the follow-through of the latter; a railextension; and means hingedly connecting said rail extension to a railof the other set of juxtaposed upper end portions, said one set ofjuxtaposed upper end portions crossing said extension and the latterbeing swingable out of said path when engaged by the golf club at thetermination of the backswing.

3. A mechanical instruction aid for guiding a golf club during apractice swing, comprising a pair of closelyspaced, curved railsextending alongside each other and arranged to loosely receive betweenthem the lower shank portion ot' the golf club, said rails extendingalong a predetermined curvilinear path conforrning to a prescribedgolf-club swing, the upper end portions of said rails crossing eachother and the said path being generally in the shape of a closed loop;and means hingedly connecting the set of juxtaposed upper end portionsof said rails which dene the beginning of the swing to the remainingportions of the rails to enable said end portions to be swung out ofsaid curvilinear path and thereby provide clearance for the golf club onthe follow-through of the latter.

4. A mechanical instruction aid for guiding a golf club during apractice swing, comprising a pair of closelyspaced, curved railsextending alongside each other and arranged to loosely receive betweenthem the lower shank portion of the golf club, said rails extendingalong a predetermined curvilinear path conforming to a prescribedgolf-club swing, the upper end portions of said rails crossing eachother and the said path being generally in the shape of a closed loop;means hingedly connecting the set of juxtaposed upper end portions ofsaid rails which define the beginning ot` the swing to the remainingportions of the rails to enable said end portions to be swung out ofsaid curvilinear path and thereby provide clearance for the golf club onthe follow-through of the latter; latch means releasably holding saidhinged upper end portions in said curvilinear path; spring-charged meansfor swinging said end portions out of said path about said hingedconnection; and means engaged by the golf club when leaving said endportions, rendering inoperative said latch means whereby the endportions are automatically swung clear of the club on the followthroughof the latter.

5. A mechanical instruction aid for guiding a golf club during apractice swing, comprising a pair of closelyspaced, curved railsextending alongside each other and arranged to loosely receive betweenthem the lower shank portion of the golf club, said rails extendingalong a predetermined curvilinear path conforming to a prescribedgolf-club swing; a rail extension; and means hingedly connecting saidrail extension to a rail of one set of juxtaposed upper end portions,said extension being swingable out of said path when engaged by the golfclub at the termination of the backswing.

6. A mechanical instruction aid for guiding a golf club during a swing,comprising guide means cooperable with the shank of the club andincluding an elongate structure extending along a predeterminedcurvilinear path conforming to a prescribed golf-club swing; and anupright stanchion connected with and supporting said structure, saidstanchion comprising a pair of telescoping members, the inner of whichhas means disposable adjacent an end of the outer member for adjustablypositioning a pin in ditierent, axially spaced locations, said end ofthe outer member having a notch adapted to receive said pin, therebytoposition the said members axially and prevent relative turningthereof.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,854,392 Bambrick Apr. 19, 1932 2,084,901 Eisenberg .lune 22, 19372,520,287 Plunkett Aug. 29, 1950 2,653,025 Zega Sept. 22, 1953

